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Ok, kids. You’ve been waiting and now it’s HERE! Black Friday in Amalthea’s Attic! Now through through 11/30, use code 20202014 and orders of $20 and up get 20% off their order! One coupon per customer, so make it count! We’ve also got free shipping on orders of $50 and up in the US! Don’t miss out, ’tis the season!

The first goth bands came from the punk scene in the late 1970s. Darker and less aggressive, with a similar, but different fashion, the goth scene took hold in England, with punk-goth bands such as The Cure, Joy Division, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Other extremely influential bands include Bauhahus and The Sisters of Mercy. Many of these bands were also classified as new wave, or at least had a few new wave hits with some of their poppier songs in the 1980s. Goth music is a heavy influence on modern-day horror-rock and emo.

The Damned was one of the most theatrical goth bands of the day, with stage performances that looked like a Dracula movie. Female goth makeup was largely influenced by Siouxsie Sioux’s kohl-lined eyes and eye plate-like makeup. Much of the makeup worn was influenced by Egyptian eye makeup, with the rest coming from horror movies and novels such as Dracula.

Once the name “goth” was embraced and established, many more bands found the door open to them. Bands like Play Dead, Danse Society, and The March Violets were finding success with the goths. Much of the music spread by word of mouth or in dance clubs, which was integral to the goth scene. There were also fanzines, and later, magazines, dedicated to goth music and fashion.

Today, it’s even easier to keep abreast of what’s going on with the culture and the music, thanks to the Internet.

In the United States, goth eventually took hold, thanks to bands like Christian Death, 45 Grave, and TSOL. These bands were also pretty punk, early on, though Christian Death’s sound has changed many times over the course of their career. Goth clubs began to open in the United States and the fashion began to catch on, as well.

As time went by, goth changed again, with eclectic bands like Dead Can Dance and The Cocteau Twins coming onto the scene. Mephisto Walz and Clan of Xymox were also very popular and during this time, some of them were lumped in with “alternative” music, in the early 1990s, and had modest hits, as as result. Because of MTV’s “120 Minutes,” which showed all different alternative videos, these bands gained prominence, as did older bands like Bauhaus and Joy Division, who were introduced to a new audience. Bands that benefited from this, but did not go mainstream, include Cruxshadows, Switchblade Symphony, London After Midnight, and Bella Morte. Because more people were aware of the goth scene, there were more clubs and more places to g

At this point, goth and punk somewhat separated, and goth merged with other distant cousins of punk — industrial, synthpop, and EBM. This was a natural progression, as there was already cross over between goth and new wave. In the 2000s, goth itself simple became a mash-up of all of these things, and unfortunately, much of the scene’s popularity began to wane.

Want some cool goth ringtones? Go for it — it’s one of the few accessories you can’t be without.

The holidays are here and everyone’s ready to have their day, their way. But what if you’ve got a non-traditional family who still celebrates those traditional holidays? Never fear, you can still have the folks over for food, without compromising your esthetic desires. Even if you’ve got a conservative family and friends, with more “old fashioned” ideas of how the day should look, these tips will help to carefully guide them into a tasteful night of tasty food.

Look, you don’t want every holiday to look just like Halloween. Halloween deserves its own night, so don’t go stomping on it by dying your turkey black and serving up purple mashed potatoes. You’re looking for tasteful, not distasteful, and with that said:

(1) Pick a color scheme. You might want to tweak the traditional orange and burgundy shades of table linen for black and red, or black and purple. Try a spiderweb runner under those autum leaf accents. Little touches mean a lot here.

(2) Don’t go crazy with dinnerware. Unless you’re a BIG party thrower, your money is likely spent in better ways than stocking up a load of once a year china. Use white standards, but pop a dark charger under the dinner plate. Places like Target and even dollar stores have them for a very low price, and with an accent napkin in the center, wrapped in velvet ribbon, your table will look classy without breaking the bank. As far as stemware is concerned, your regular wine glasses will be fine, but consider adding some of that ribbon you used around the napkins to tie bows around the bases of each glass in alternating colors for an eye catching, but tasteful, table layout.

(3) And now, for the food! Instead of serving plain white wine, try making a blood-red sangria. Use novelty skull ice trays for your chilled drinks, and if you’re baking pie or cookies, use those halloween cookie cutters you just couldn’t resist to make those steam holes and sweet treats.

And finally, keep it loose. It’s YOUR day. Your family is your prisoner! They’re already in your house. They’ve stepped over the threshold. If they leave now, they’ll miss the biggest glutton fest of the year. You think a few spiderweb accents are going to chase them away from their plates? Ha! Never! So make it yours. Have a good time, and raise a glass to a cooler, more fun twist on a traditional American Holiday.

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So, you’ve been bleaching and flat ironing, and teasing your hair into a hot, fried mess. We’ve all done it. But how can you turn it from this:

Into this?:

Well, we’ve got a guest poster today that’s here to show you exactly how to do it! So, without further delay, take it away, Jemma!

Amazing tips on getting awesome hair in 30 days…

So, you want awesome hair? Then you’ve got to start from the inside out. The techniques I am about to share with you are all proven to improve your tresses, and while it might take some time, it’ll definitely be worth it. Some might be common knowledge but I guarantee you that there will be some aha moments here as some secrets are revealed by the hair experts.

To achieve that gorgeously perfect hair we need to care for it inside and out. Here are the lists of the things you need to eat or to avoid in order to accomplish our goal:

Eat the right food, fruits and vegetable is a must for a healthy hair. But adding nuts, brown rice, beans and pulses to your diet would really be a big plus on your hairs’ condition.

Get supplement that nourish your hair such as hair-building vitamins B6, B12, evening primrose oil, folic acid and a good multivitamins.

Avoid smoking, caffeine and alcohol it does more harm than good to your tresses in fact if you eliminate this, your hair will grow stronger and longer.

And now the next step is the dos and don’ts in keeping your hair in top condition. Bear in mind that how you wash your hair and the products you use can go a long way toward maintain a smooth and shiny hair according to dermatologist.

So follow these steps to get healthy hair in no time:

For oily hair, more frequent washing is necessary the more oily your scalp the more you should wash your hair. Here are 3 following scenarios that can help address the frequency of washing the hair.

Washing once or twice daily whichever is appropriate for oily hair.

Your hair may be drier if they have been chemically treated so washing should be less frequent.

Your scalp will be making less oil as you get older so it might not be advisable to shampoo hair every day. However if flakes are forming then it may be a sign to wash your hair regularly with a shampoo.

Shampoo should be applied directly to the scalp to clean the scalp primarily and not the entire length. Washing the ends will result to dull and coarse hair creating flyaway hair.

Conditioner should be concentrated on the hair tips and not on the scalp or the length of the hair because it will make your fine hair look limp.

Using conditioner every after shampoo is a must. It can greatly improve the look of damaged hair by adding shine, lessen static electricity, improve strength and provide protection from the damaging rays of the sun.

Your shampoo and conditioner should be appropriate for your hair type such us color treated hair or damaged hair as this was specifically made to benefit the intended user.

Never go swimming without protecting your hair. Chlorine has been proven to damage the hair so to avoid this always wet the hair and condition them before swimming. Wearing of tight-fitting swim cap is also advisable. And lastly, do not forget to wash of the chlorine after swimming use specially formulated shampoo and deep conditioner to replace lost moisture.

Stay tuned for a more in depth discussion on caring for your hair. Make sure to follow the tips to get luscious hair in 30 days…You can use hair extensions for more gorgeous hair and have thicker hair. You can visit www.humanhairextensionsonline.com.au.The clock is ticking…start now!

Q- I recently bought Blood Red Special Effects hair dye from you and have a few problems with it. The dye went on and took to my hair nicely, but I dyed it on Friday (and today is Monday) and already my roots are showing. Every time I take a shower the dye washes out as if I had put fresh dye on my hair and was trying to redye it. Because of this, my skin looks like I have a really bad sunburn and I cannot get it to come out. Also, my clothes are covered in red where my hair touches my shirt, my pillow has turned red, my hair straightener is red, my winter coat (which I have worn only once since dying my hair) is red, and so is a (once) white headband. My hair touches all of these things when it is dry, so the color shouldn’t be coming out but it constantly does. Do you have any suggestions on how I can prevent this from happening anymore?

Blood red is the longest lasting red, but it also bleeds for the longest, however, with care (I use this color myself) you can get at least 4-6 weeks of bright color out of it!

Follow up:

Q-That helped a little bit, thank you, but what do you suggest to get it out of everything I own? I’ve gotten it out of my clothes, but I can’t get it out of my headband, pillow, or coat and I’m afraid of ruining my straightener along with my glasses (I only just realized there’s red on them). I’m sorry for all the questions, but I usually use Manic Panic and got used to everything that happens when I use that. Then I decided I wanted to make my hair look like Rihanna’s and my cousin, who I guess knows all of you guys, suggested that I try it and then told me to come to you when I expressed my problem to her. This is by far my favorite color but I don’t know how to deal with it so it doesn’t get everywhere.

A: For metal and plastics, anything with bleach in it (scrubbing bubbles with bleach) tends to work really well. Fabrics, if you get them quickly, can be cleaned with regular detergent and some oxy clean, otherwise, bleach is the best way to go with those. Keeping a dark dye like this under control requires a bit of behavior modification. Only sleep on dark pillowcases, the constant rubbing and friction in the night is going to stain them with a dye like this (alternately, you can sleep on a towel.) For a headband, avoid light colored bands for the first week or two. BEFORE you step out of the shower, wrap your head in a dark towel (I keep one on a hook in the shower and have an unstained, light gray bathmat, so it does work!) until you’re no longer dripping. When you’re wet, avoid all things white, and just bear in mind that a color like this absolutely, positively WILL run under some circumstances. If you’re looking for little or no maintenance, only a lighter color, or permanent dye is going to get you there. Another not so fun dye fact, the more you bleach your hair, the more ANY color is going to run and the faster it will fade. This is due to damage from the bleaching process so if at all possible, only bleach new growth, never re-bleach already dyed or bleached hair! I hope that helps!

Additionally, something that must be considered with “weird hair” is that there’s absolutely, positively, NO way to get around the “trade off.” You know why Rhianna’s glasses arms aren’t red like mine and yours? Because Rhianna is a millionaire with a ridiculous glasses budget and someone following her around ensuring that the second dye gets on those glasses, they’re replaced (also, I’m not entirely sure she wears glasses, but you catch my drift.) Much in the same way that women in movies are never icky and sticky after sex, and action heroes never have to pee (I’m looking at you, Keifer Sutherland. 24 hours with nary a poop or a pee? REALLY, Sir?) in real life, things are a lot more ugly and messy.

Amalthea fun fact: 2 years ago, I couldn’t take it anymore and dyed my hair jet black. For one solid year, NOTHING I went near was stained! I used white pillowcases and blankets and towels with abandon! My shirt collars were pristine. It was sort of awesome, except that at the end of that year, I felt a bit like I’d given up on life and I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. So about a year ago, I decided to pin down what I hate the MOST about the dying process. It came down to 2 things: Ruined bathroom accoutrements and bleaching. I HATE bleaching. I’m 35 (woah!) and I can’t have fried, frizzy hair anymore, it’s just not cute, so bleaching involves ONLY doing the most recent growth and absolutely NEVER overlapping with touch ups. So, my solution? I go to a salon to get my roots bleached. That’s all they do. I leave there looking like a half bleached drown rat. Sucks for them, rules for me. Also, I am CAREFUL. I have lovely sheets on my bed, but on my side, the pillowcases are black. I have a half red, half white comforter cover. Guess which side I sleep with? My bathrobe is, you guessed it, red. I keep a spray bottle of bleach in the shower and I’m not afraid to use it. But you know what? I have RAD looking hair AND a pale grey bathmat, and that, my friends, is fun hair success.

Got any more tips for dealing with the hair dye mess? Leave ‘em in the comments below.

We get a TON of the same questions about hairdye here at the Attic, so we thought, hey, lets just combine them into one super convenient Q&A, shall we? A: Yes, we shall!

Q: What’s the most important thing I can do to make my dye last longer?

A: We get this one the most. Number one tip? DON’T WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY! Don’t do it! And, honestly, even if you don’t dye your hair? Still, don’t wash it every day. You’re stripping oils out that your hair actually LIKES having in there. When you first switch off from daily washing to, lets say, 2 times a week at MOST washing, yes, your hair is gonna look a little grungy. Give it a couple of weeks to retrain itself and you’ll be amazed at how happy it is.

Q: But, Amalthea, I work out! I sweat, I HAVE to wash it!

A: No, you don’t. Trust me, I’m not some kind of crunchy oatmeal dreads girl. When I did have dreads they were 100% synthetic. I’m not advocating stinkin’ up the joint. However, rinsing your hair in warm water after a workout, unless you worked out in a vat of molasses, WILL rinse out the sweat. I’m a huge fan of summer gardening. I know all about sweating and grossness. I use this method and it really does work.

Q: Ok, fine. You win, but when I DO wash it, what should I use?

A: Whatever you want. It’s really not going to make THAT much of a difference. Personally, I use Herbal Essences Color me happy shampoo and I use a variety of conditioners that I rotate between, including Dove Intensive therapy, whatever’s cheap in the store, and the stuff nice n’ easy uses for after you use their box dye. Thanks to my mom’s incredibly short hair, I have this in no short supply, but they do sell it separately in the store, or so says the obnoxious marketing button on each and every tube of the stuff.

Q: How long does YOUR dye last?

A: I use blood red by special effects and generally speaking, my roots are a problem before fading is. I get at least 4-6 weeks in the fall, winter, spring and 3-4 weeks in the summer because I refuse to give up swimming.

Q: Why does the crown of my hair always fade so quickly? The ends seem to last.

A: Hot water. Your hair dye HATES it when you stand in the shower under the hot water just letting it beat on the top of your head. Now, personally, I’d rather be bitten on the face by a zombie than give up hot showers so I find that the best thing to do is TURN AROUND! Let the water beat on your upper back, not your head. You’ll enjoy this just as much after awhile and voila! You’ll have a dark crown.

Q: I hear you just gutted and completely overhauled your bathroom, how can you possibly dye your hair in it?

A: Take your time, keep bleach in the shower with you, and possibly most importantly, keep a dark towel in the shower with you and wrap your hair BEFORE you step out of the shower.

So, that’s the quick tips for the day. Have any questions? Leave ‘em in the comments or drop us an email and we’ll be happy to answer them for you!